Submersible Pump Case Study: Steel Plant

Steel Plant Improves Productivity & Reliability with Pitbull Pneumatic Pumps

END USER: Stelco Hamilton Works, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

THE APPLICATION:
Submersible pumps to empty underground seepage and wastewater containment areas at steel plant

THE PROBLEMS:

1. Calcium would build up on centrifugal pump impellers, closing off the tolerances required for pump operation and causing pump failure.
2. The calcium-encased impellers eventually would begin hitting the sides of the pumps, causing additional pump damage.
3. Calcium also built up on the shafts of the mechanical floats used to trigger centrifugal pump operations to the point where the floats would fail and then the pump areas would flood, damaging electrical pumps and other equipment.
4. The centrifugal pump motors frequently failed during high-temperature applications during activities like boiler blowdowns.
5. As the calcium built up and the pumps became damaged, there was no longer enough vacuum for self-priming centrifugal pumps to prime, so plant workers were required to prime the pumps by hand as needed.
6. The costs of repairing or replacing the centrifugal pumps and of dealing with the incidental damage were unacceptable.

THE SOLUTION: We eliminated the need for centrifugal pumps by installing a couple dozen Pitbull submersible pumps, including the S4x4, S4, S6x4, S6, S3x2 and S3x2 dual.

THE RESULTS:

After experiencing routine failures with the previous pumps, the steel plant has reported no repairs – and no flooding – since the Pitbull all-pneumatic pumps were installed six years ago.

1. The check valves used in Pitbull’s pumps don’t have the tolerance requirements of centrifugal pump components, so calcium build-up is no longer an issue.
2. Pitbull’s pumps, which run on air rather than motors, can handle up to 300° F, so heat-related failures were eliminated.
3. Because Pitbull pumps are pneumatically operated, the steel plant no longer needs to maintain electrical service to the pump area, removing yet another potential point of failure and repair.
4. The improved reliability provided by Pitbull’s submersible pumps decreased pump-related production interruptions, improving productivity.
5. The installation of the Pitbull pumps saved Stelco time and money since flood-related repairs and maintenance were eliminated.
6. The steel works also achieved significant cost savings by eliminating the need to replace pumps.
   Worker safety increased because employees no longer needed to routinely enter the pumping stations to prime, repair or replace failing centrifugal pumps.

THE SPECS: Click on a pump type to view the data sheet for that submersible pump:

S4x4 – S4 – S6x4 – S6 – S3x2 – S3x2 Dual

THE RESPONSE:
“Upon the replacement of the pumps with Pitbull, our maintenance and repair cost has been reduced to a minimum.†– Click here to read the full response